Some people are born to shop, some are born to ride, and some, the very fortunate few, are born to design! Such is John Barman. He's been in the interior design business for 20 years – but really you can say his design sensibilities were formed at conception. "I always wanted to be a designer," he says. "My mother was an interior designer so it is in my blood."

Good genes go a long way in this industry as evidenced by Barman's wide range of fans. Though his offices are on Park Avenue, his designs are worldly and his clients span the United States. Recently, he designed a home in Ohio for a certain race car driver. That project was covered in March's Architectural Digest but that was not Barman's first brush with celebrity – he has been featured in magazines from The New York Times Magazine to Vibe (and everything in between).

Inspired by "beautiful concepts," Barman steps back to get the bigger picture on architecture, paintings or even an "amazing piece of furniture" in order to rouse his creativity. In one instance, he designed an entire home using a client's painting as the starting point.

Though he strives to be sure that form meets function in all of his designs, Barman works to fashion spaces that are novel and unique. His muses can be new and exciting concepts or simply old concepts that he approaches from a different angle.

"It's hard to pick the best," Barman says of his favorite designs, "but we did do a very interesting project on the beach in East Hampton. The home is a large shingle style house which we decorated in a colorful English style. To complete the job, I traveled to England twice with the client." In terms of furnishings, Barman took an alternate route and decorated with Chinese objects.

Barman is a firm believer in the importance of the interior design trade and he insists that anyone who decides to decorate a house should first hire a professional. "Even if it's just for a consultation," he says. "A designer will give your house style and beauty as well as function. Dealing with a professional in the design of your house makes all that difference. People don't design their own clothes or cut their own hair or handle their own legal matters – so why would they design their own houses?"